SnowStorm
by Shade the Hero
Summary: A freak snow storm forces Zack to fight to survive in the frozen mountains. Surviving hypothermia isn't Zack's biggest worry however, it's earning the trust of a stubborn kid and keeping him hidden from a strict general. AU
1. Prologue: White Outs and Black Outs

_I know, what you're thinking. 'why is she writing another new story when she has so many that aren't finished?' Truth is, this idea has been floating around in my head for the past week now. I've tried to ignore it, but it won't leave me alone. So I finally gave in. It shouldn't get in the way of my other projects. just offer something to write until I get unstuck with the others. _

_I've read several FF7 fanfics over the past few months and while they've been unique and awesome in their own way I've never come across one like this. So, here goes an AU that I've never tried before. Hope you enjoy! ^^_

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><p><strong><em>Prologue<em>**

Strong gusty winds whipped through the frozen landscape. It whistled and howled through the snow-covered trees. The sun's light was blocked out by the towering cliffs of the mountains, though it would have little effect through the thick clouds that continued to dump heavy snow. Nothing could survive these hostile conditions for very long. Not even the local monsters would chance venturing out into this frozen hellstorm.

One lonely soul trekked onward, pushing through snow that measured up to his ankles, but he knew it was only a matter of time before it rose up to his knees. He had been called a fool many times, but even he knew when to seek shelter. That was what First Class SOLDIER Zack Fair was doing at the very moment, or, at least trying to do. He blew hot air into his hands in an attempt to keep himself warm. It only lasted seconds before he was engulfed by the cold once again.

"Shiva this sucks!"

He kept cursing his horrible luck, but wouldn't dare insult the dead. He had been on a mission to a small village where the monster population had grown to large numbers. Naturally these second-hand missions had fallen to him since the great General Sephiroth couldn't be bothered to take on the 'grunt missions' as he dubbed them. So it fell to Zack who selected a handful of Second and Third class SOLDIERs to accompany him, seven in all along with a few infantrymen who served at the pilots of the helicopter. They were almost to their destination when this massive blizzard struck without warning and blew them off course. The pilots tried to maneuver the aircraft out of the thick of the storm but were caught in the whiteout. They didn't see the cliff in time and the chopper's blades clipped the rocky cliff face, shredding the metal and causing the chopper to plummet to the mountain-side below.

Zack was the only survivor. When he realized the chopper had stopped tumbling he had to climb out of the pile of parachute sacks that he had fallen into as they crashed. It was those that had saved him, the others weren't as lucky. Now he was stuck out here with no radio, no food, no protection against the cold and not another living soul around to give him directions. It would be a long and lonely trek back to Midgar, or at least through the mountains. He just hoped he was going the right way.

The weather made the going horrible slow and as the minutes ticked by Zack found it harder and harder to see anything more than ten feet in front of him. He had a higher tolerance against the cold than most, but mako could only do so much. His hands and feet were numb and his eyes stung. He had to force them not to water, fearing that his tears would freeze, causing more pain. He prayed for something, anything to happen to get him out of the cold.

Zack thought he saw a flicker of light to the side of the mountain and headed for it. Hoping that it was a campfire. Even if it was home to a group of bandits it was better than freezing to death out in a blizzard. Zack was willing to take the chance. The snow was deeper now, almost past his knees, making snail forward inch by inch, but he was alright with it. Soon he'd be in the warmth of the fire. when he looked back up the light was gone and he saw nothing. His eyes widened with panic.

"No! Where'd the light go? It was there! Hello!"

He called out, hoping that whoever had the fire going would hear him and come back.

"Please!"

He struggled against the snow, forcing himself to go faster. He pushed himself past his limits.

"Please," he panted as his breath escaped him in puffs of steam, "help..."

He fell face first into the snow, unable to move, unable to go any farther.

His last thoughts were on his parents, Midgar, SOLDIER, his mentor and finally the flower girl he had befriended before the darkness finally took him.


	2. Chapter 1: Cold Attitude Warm Tears

_Well, I'm not super happy with this chapter, but it's better than what it was. I had to go back and fix a few things with this one because it was bugging the heck outta me. I originally wanted the make the kid a little bit younger, but eh. It's staying as it is. _

_Enjoy!_

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><p>The waking world came back to Zack slowly. He felt cold, but no longer frozen. He could feel his fingers and toes again and he was sore all over. Good, at least he wasn't going to lose any digits to frostbite. He opened his eyes slowly at first and then opened them wide enough to take in his surroundings. He couldn't feel the wind against him, even though he could still hear it howling somewhere nearby. There was the flickering glow of a fire nearby as well.<p>

Slowly sitting up, Zack turned to see that his back was to the fire. He smiled as he let the warmth embrace him, holding his hands up to the dancing flames. He rubbed them together before looking down and noticing the ragged blanket that had been draped over him, which now had slid down to his lap. He blinked before looking at his surroundings.

He was in a cave. It was small, but it was big enough for the tiny campsite. The entrance to the cave had been packed closed with snow with only a small opening near the top for oxygen to pass through. The height of the hole kept the cold air from seeping into the cave floor, keeping it comfortable and snug. Looking around more, Zack noticed a sled, a cooking pot and a few other things that apparently belonged to his rescuer. Zack sighed with relief when he saw his sword lying on top of the sled.

"You're awake huh? Don't you SOLDIERs know anything about blizzards?"

The voice made Zack turn and look to the back of the cave. A small figure had emerged from the darkness with a small pale full of snow. The stranger was wearing a thick Nibel-wolf pelt coat and its thick hood covered the person's face. He carried the pale over and dumped the frozen slush into the pot and placed the pot over the fire. He then sat down on the opposite side of Zack and removed his hood.

Zack blinked in surprise. His rescuer was just a kid! A kid with striking blue eyes and spiky blonde hair that kinda reminded him of chocobo feathers. The very idea of it made him grin.

"What're you smirking at?" The kid seemed to be in a bad mood, or was he just plain grumpy. Zack couldn't tell, but at the moment he didn't care. He was out of the storm and with the fire warming him his carefree nature was quickly returning to him.

"I'm just happy. I thought I was a goner back there. Thanks for the save, kid."

The 'kid' only shrugged his shoulders with a huff and went back to what he was doing. "I just got tired of seeing people dying for stupid reasons."

"Stupid reasons?" Zack repeated.

The kid turned to face him, blue eyes blazing with cold fire. "Yeah, like walking in a snow storm with nothing to keep him warm or even worse, not having enough sense to stay out of the weather in the first place!"

Zack blinked at the ferocity of the kid's harsh attitude. "Sheesh, sorry kid. I didn't mean to piss you off."

The young blonde grunted before kneeling back down. Zack couldn't help but peek over the kid's shoulder. His curiosity getting the better of him. "What'cha doin'?"

"Getting food ready, or did you want to starve?"

Zack sat back down and stared at the kid. It felt like he was sharing the cave with a Nibel wolf. The kid was just as ferocious as one and he kept his claws sharp and his fangs bared at Zack as if he were an enemy.

"Are you always this friendly?" Zack asked flatly.

The boy's eyes met his, but the fierce fire seemed to be replaced with a small bit of sadness. "Nothing's friendly about this place. Not the wild, not the people, nothing."

Zack wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he sensed nothing but pain in the kid's tone, so he decided to lighten the mood. "Hey, you wanna see something neat?"

He got up and headed for the entrance to the cave. Being careful not to weaken the snow wall that the kid had set up he carved out three snow balls and turned to the kid only to wink at him before juggling them. The boy watched him with annoyance at first, but as the SOLDIER kept going the kid soon became impressed. Zack did a few tricks with the technique, tossing one ball higher than the others, tossing one or two under hand then over hand before ending with the big finish. He tossed the snow balls into the air one by one. He punched the first two, scattering bits of pulverized snow across the cave floor before slicing the last snow ball in half with his hand in a chopping motion.

The two halves landed on the floor and Zack took a bow.

"That was pretty cool," the kid admitted.

"Thanks," Zack replied with a smile as he sat back down in front of the fire.

"Where'd you learn to do that?"

Zack couldn't help but chuckle. He had the kid's attention and it was nice that the kid wasn't growling with the harshness of a monster anymore. "Just something I've been doing since I was a kid, though I used fruit instead of snow. We don't get any snow around Gongaga."

"What's that?" asked the kid.

"My hometown. I'm Zack by the way, what's your name?"

The kid shook his head then, making Zack tilted his head. "What's wrong? You have a name, right?"

"Of course I have one," he replied.

"Okay, so what is it? I don't bite."

The kid glared at him, "It's pointless to tell you my name. Once this storm breaks we'll go our separate ways and probably never see each other again."

Zack only chuckled. "What makes you say that? I may get lost in these mountains again and need someone to rescue me. How will I ask for your help if I don't know you're name?"

The kid blinked at him, it looked like he was about to say something but then he thought better of it and turned his back on Zack.

"Then there must be something wrong with you to. Figures I'd get stuck with a reject SOLDIER."

Zack chuckled again which angered the kid further.

"What's so funny?"

Zack rubbed his nose before replying, "For a reject I'm not doin' too badly to be a First Class."

At this the kid smirked. "If you're a First Class then frogs must've grown wings."

"Gaia I hope not, those things are bad enough without the gift of flight," Zack replied.

The kid placed one hand on his hip, "Stop goofing off and be serious. If you were a First Class then you'd be on the same level as Sephiroth and I doubt an idiot like you could match his skills."

"Well," Zack scratched the back of his head, "Seph's in a class all of his own really. There are two other First Class SOLDERs and even they have a hard time taking him on during a sparring session."

The blonde rolled his eyes. It was obvious this guy wasn't going to be serious with him. "Just eat your soup when it's ready and then get some sleep. You're out of here tomorrow."

Zack tried a few more times to get the kid's attention but he was ignored every time. It seemed like it was going to be a long night. Finally with a heavy sigh Zack gave up, ate his soup and laid down to sleep. He was only giving up for the night though, the kid had rescued him, got him to a warm place and given him food. That told Zack all he needed to know about the boy and he was determined to make him smile by the time the storm ended.

The next morning Zack woke to the sound of the howling winds still blowing strong outside. He also heard the kid grumbling from somewhere in the back of the cave. Zack realized he wasn't going anywhere until the storm let up. So he decided to try and make friends with the kid, since he had nothing else better to do.

"So, where are your folks?"

The question made the boy's head snap up from what he was doing. He had expected the man to ask him that last night, but when he didn't he felt relieved. Now the question had been brought up and he let out an annoyed sigh, not wanting to answer him. That didn't stop Zack from asking questions though.

"Are you lost?"

Silence.

"Did you run away?"

Silence.

"Did something bad happen?"

More silence.

Zack sighed, "C'mon kid, throw me a bone here."

"No. No. ...Yes."

"Huh?" Zack blinked a few times in confusion.

"The answers to your questions," the kid replied.

"I'm not lost, I didn't run away,..."

"But something bad did happen?" asked Zack.

The boy nodded.

"Feel like talking about it?"

"What do you care?"

Zack was surprised by the kid's cold nature, but he figured anyone would be a bit frozen dealing with weather like this constantly.

"Because I want to help. I'm a SOLDIER. It's what I do."

The boy turned away from the SOLDIER. A small part of him wanted to believe the guy. He was certainly friendly enough and seem to be honest, but he had lost so much recently he wasn't sure who to trust anymore. He didn't even want to trust himself at this point.

Finally he gave in and relented. "There's a small village on the other side of these mountains," he began.

Zack nodded, "I know, I-"

"-do you want the story or not?" snapped the kid.

Zack shut up.

"I lived there with my mom. We weren't liked by the town very well. They especially didn't like me very much after what happened at the bridge. The monsters were getting out of control and I was convinced it had something to do with the reactor. Mom agreed, but everyone else wouldn't believe me. The man in the house next to ours said he sent out a message requesting Shinra to come and deal with the rising monster problem."

He nodded when he saw Zack's eye brow raise in confusion.

"I know, they said they didn't believe me, but they just didn't want to admit that I was right. A week went by and Shinra didn't come. I was getting ready to leave for Midgar. I had made a promise to a friend to join SOLDIER and she'd read about me in the papers. She...she made me promise to come back one day and save her if she was ever in trouble."

"And what happened?" asked Zack. He didn't like the pain he was feeling from the kid which was coming off in waves.

"I had left that morning. I had all my gear, everything ready to go. I said goodbye to my mom, promising I'd write when I got settled and said bye to my friend the previous night. I had just gotten over the first hill when I heard a loud, angry roar. It was a pair of Nibel Dragons. They had descended from the mountains and attacked the village. The man in charge of the village was an idiot! He got tired of waiting and took matters into his own hands and sent some people to fight the monsters, but they killed the dragon's eggs. The parents came seeking revenge and destroyed the entire place."

The kid slammed his fist into the side of the cave.

"I ran back as fast as I could, but I wasn't fast enough."

Zack saw the kid's shoulders shaking and could tell he was trying to hold back his tears. He couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible. That was his mission. He was suppose to go to that village and help, but he was too late?"

"H-how long ago did this happen?"

"Three days ago," the kid replied.

Zack's heart sank. The mission had failed before it had even started. But now Zack had a new mission. This kid was from that village and that meant that it was his job to help him. No matter if he liked it or not.

Getting up, Zack placed a gentle hand on the kid's shoulder. "How old are you?"

"Twelve," the kid's shaky voice proved he was barely holding it together.

That was the final straw for Zack. He pulled the kid into a comforting hug. The blonde tried to protest and push away, but Zack refused to let go.

"It's not your fault," he told him. "There was nothing you could have done against a dragon, let alone two of them. That's something even a Second Class SOLDIER would have trouble with."

"I should have done something a week ago, I could've gotten there faster than the message did. I... I c-could've..."

"It's okay," Zack told him as he felt a warm tear land on his shirt. "It wasn't your fault, kid. you couldn't have known what was gonna happen. It's Shinra's fault for not sending anyone sooner."

The kid didn't say anything, only shaking his head.

"You're not alone anymore," Zack told him. "I'm gonna look after you. It'll be okay, I promise and when Zack Fair makes a promise, he keeps it."

Zack kept him in a hug until he was sure the boy had calmed down. When he did the kid went to work making their breakfast. He didn't say much after that, but it wasn't hard to tell there was a lot going through the kid's mind. Another night passed and the storm still hadn't let up. The two stayed nice and warm inside of the snow cave and Zack only ventured out to find some more firewood when they were running low. He returned with enough to last them through the night.

Zack had managed to cheer the kid up a bit by telling him different things about his own life. He even got him to laugh a few times when he bragged about how he had managed to prank the other First Class SOLDIERs. The kid had opened up quite a bit. He still hadn't given Zack his name, but Zack was confident he'd get him to spill it by the time the storm was over.

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><p><em>Next Chapter: The Blizzard ends, final goodbyes and a name.<em>


	3. Chapter 2: Shallow Hearts

_Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, favs and follows. It really means a lot considering this story was created just to help kick my writing muse back into gear. I never even really thought much about uploading it, but here it is and I'm glad I've decided to keep it going. :)_

_Please enjoy!_

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><p>Three days after Zack had been rescued the storm had passed. The two had to dig their way out of the snow cave. Zack was first to emerge and quickly raised up a hand against the blinding sun that greeted him.<p>

"Man, talk about a sight for sore eyes. Have you ever seen the sky so blue?...Kid?"

He turned to see the boy with his back to him, staring back into the darkness of the cave. they had packed up all of their things before digging their way to freedom. The cooking pot, sleeping bag, sled and other gear was strapped to his back, but it seemed something was on his mind.

"What's wrong?" asked Zack, who tilted his head.

"It's weird," the kid started. "When I first found this place I just thought of it as shelter from the cold, but it gave me protection and made me feel safe. And then I found you and you helped make it feel like home. It just...it feels weird walking away from it - like I'm saying goodbye to my home for a second time."

Zack smirked and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Who says we're gonna walk away from it? This is _our_ cave. We can come back here anytime we want."

the boy turned and looked at him. "R-really?"

"Sure! Here, watch this."

He walked over and unsheathed the sword that was strapped to his back. He took the sharp of the blade and carved something into the rock next to the cave's entrance. When he was done he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

_"The Sheltered Cave - founded and claimed by Zack Fair and Spiky."_

The boy looked at the message and arched an eye brow at Zack. "Spiky?"

"Well, you still won't tell me your real name so I'm gonna call you Spiky. Unless you changed your mind?"

The boy shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't trust Zack. He really didn't know why. It just felt like the only thing he had left to hold onto that would make the SOLDIER stick around. If he found out his name he wouldn't need to stick around anymore and would vanish like the spector the kid had first thought he was.

He had lost so much already that the fact of losing anything else terrified him, but he wasn't ready to admit that. Not to himself and certainly not to Zack.

"So, which way is Nibelheim?"

The boy turned his head to look at the dark-haired SOLDIER.

"Huh?"

Zack slung his sword against his back before letting out a sigh fo comfort, feeling much better with the sword resting in its natural place. "I know you probably don't want to go back so soon, but I need to survey the status of the town."

The boy glared at him. "Why? I told you what happened. The town was in ruins! That's all you need to know! Or...do you think I'm a liar?"

Zack blinked at him in surprise. "Whoa, kid, you're taking it the wrong way. It's not something I want to do. As a SOLDIER I have to suvey the damage. It goes into an offical report and there's tons of paperwork that follows."

"So what? The whole town gets written off and shoved into a file cabinet? Don't SOLDIERs care about anyone? It doesn't matter what happens to the destroyed lives as long as you meet your written quota?!"

"Kid, SOLDIER isn't like that, it's just...there's more to it than that."

"What, meetings? tea parties? Shinra has so much power, don't they care about the people who work for them? Or are we just pawns on a chess board!"

Zack could only stare at the kid as he unleashed his pain-filled rant. the pain on the kid's face, the unshed tears in his eyes...it nearly broke Zack's heart. He took a step towards the kid, but the blonde took a step back.

"Don't," he seethed, eyes burning with hatred.

He turned his back on the SOLDIER and pointed toward the far mountain. "Nibelheim is half a day's walk on foot."

Without another word the kid took off. Zack wanted to follow him, it drove him nuts to leave the kid on such bad terms, but it was clear the kid wanted nothing to do with him and the look in his eyes - Zack knew the kid felt betrayed. The First wanted nothing more than to run after the kid and explain how SOLDIERs really were, but he knew in his current mood the kid wouldn't listen.

Turning the other way, Zack forced himself to head towards his original mission: Nibelheim.

Several hours had passed and every step felt wrong to the SOLDIER. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to go after the kid. He wanted to, but the kid made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to be anywhere near a SOLDIER. So with a heavy heart Zack kept moving forward. Finally he made it to the small town of Nibelheim...or, what was left of it.

Most of the buildings and houses were in ruins, including the mansion at the other end of town. All that was left was a twisted metal gate, a half-crumbled wall and a smoking, charred mess of smoke, broken glass and splintered wood.

He walked through the town and felt horrible at the damage. It was no wonder the kid didn't want to return.

"Haven't you learned your lesson yet, Bandit? There is no easy prey for you here!"

Zack turned to see a man standing several feet behind him. There were others too, women and children, but not many. About nine in all. The three women shielded the two kids and the four men took on defensive stances, keeping themselves between Zack and the women. He had to respect their stubbornness. They were just like the kid. His thoughts were forced to the back of his mind when he saw two of the men gripping metal pipes nervously.

"Er, Hello. My name is Zack Fair. I'm a SOLDIER from Midgar. Shinra received your warning, but it looks like we were too late."

Boy was that an understatement, but what else could he say? Sorry the General didn't want to come himself? Sorry Shinra didn't consider a backwater town to be top priority? Sorry the 'too-late-to-do-anything' chopper crashed? Not the best way to earn the trust of the locals.

The man that seemed to be in charge of the small group lowered his makeshift weapon and took a step forward. "You're too late SOLDIER. The monsters were too much for us. We lost so many. Our town wasn't very big, but we're all that's left. Over thirty others are dead."

Zack's heart nearly plumetted. Thirty innocent lives lost? Zack wanted to cry. "I'm sorry," was all he could say.

"It's not you're fault,...not entirely," the man replied.

Then another man spoke up. "Yeah, it's that boy's fault. If he had warned us sooner then no one would have died. Including his own mother."

Zack looked up at the man then. Boy? they couldn't mean...

"If it wasn't for that Strife boy Mr. Lockhart and young Tifa, Mason and Jennifer, Jackie, Emily and even baby Dawn, none of them would have died."

Zack's fist clenched tightly. He felt for these people, he really did, but to put all of the blame on a kid who tried to warn them made his blood boil. Now he understood what the kid meant. "That's not how I heard it. He tried to warn you days before it was too late!"

The man shook his head. "Is that what he told you? Then that means he's nice and safe in a Shinra bed while his friends and family suffer and die. He doesn't care. I knew he was always bad news. He probably left town and never looked back."

Zack glared daggers at the man, but said nothing. He didn't trust his words at that point. He knew if he tried his temper would get the better of him and he'd say something that he'd regret later. Besides, there were women and children here and they didn't need to suffer anymore then they already had. So, as much as the guy deserved a broken nose, Zack ignored him, put on the blank face of a SOLDIER and went to work recording the level of damage. After that he traveled around the village, trying to track the dragons and determine if they still posed a threat.

He found what he was looking for when he saw two sets of large footprints heading away from the village. Zack found it rather strange that the dragons would waste their time walking when they could fly. They normally stayed air-born unless they were either carrying something or hunting. That last realization struck Zack with dread and he rushed off into the trees.

Ten minutes of running at full speed and Zack was starting to hope that he had been wrong. Maybe the dragons were just tired or just to overburdened with grief to fly? Didn't that blonde kid say that the people in town had killed their eggs? That would mean that this whole tragedy was an act of revenge. The dragons probably weren't even the original monsters causing trouble.

"Speaking of which..."

Zack stopped and looked around. It was strange that he hadn't run into any monsters yet. Wasn't the area supposed to be thriving with them?

A gunshot off to the west startled Zack and as he turned he heard the high-pitch scream of a monster in pain. He knew the sound all too well and knew that was the last sound the creature would ever make. Heading off into the direction the shriek had come from he stopped again when the stench of blood hit him. He had to cover his nose. It wasn't that he wasn't used to the smell of battle, but the smell over overwhelming.

A few more steps and he came upon a ridge. Climbing up, he soon discovered the reason why. Blood was _everywhere!_ Dripping from the trees, staining the rocks and the ground - even the boulder next to him was covered in blood. Monsters littered the ground everywhere he looked. Nibel Wolves were the only creatures he could recognize through the carnage, but there were a few other creatures too, they were just too damaged to determine their species.

A sixth sense forced Zack to look above him and he jumped to the side just as a bullet buried itself in the ground where he had been the second before. Zack looked up and saw what looked like a red cape flowing through the trees as if gliding on the wind. It gracefully landed and a person seemed to materialize out of the cloth.

The man wore a red head band that kept his messy, long black hair out of his face. One arm was encased with a shiny golden claw while the human-looking hand wielded a triple-barrel hand gun. His shoes...or boots were also gold and shiny, that wasn't the strangest thing about it and Zack couldn't help but snicker.

"What's so funny?" the man asked.

Zack busted out laughing, earning a glare from the man. "Sorry, but it's just...those shoes!"

"What about them?" It was the clear the man was clueless.

Zack shook his head. "They're so pointy, it's like you've got two lances strapped to your feet!" He doubled over and held his sides as a new wave of laughter erupted from his gut.

The man just stared at him as Zack started crying he was laughing so hard.

"You have a shallow heart."

Zack stopped laughing then, "'Scuse me?"

The man turned his back on him. "Someone who can laugh after so much despair must have a shallow heart. You aren't bothered by the suffering around you because it didn't happen to you. You either aren't smart enough to realize it or you just don't care."

Zack's good mood was gone in a flash and was replaced by anger. "Now wait a minute pal, just because I have a laugh every now and then doesn't mean that I'm insensitive." He thought back to all of the people that had died during the attack. Thirty in all, and those who remained. they were bitter and cold-hearted, but they were all that was left. The only life they knew was gone. It tore Zack's heart in two, but what else could he do to help them? He needed more man power to restore the town, but he was powerless until he got back to headquarters.

The man took a few steps into the trees and vanished. Zack hurried after him and was met with a strange sight. The trees opened up into a clearing where the rotting bodies of two dragons lay. The man stopped in front of one of the creatures' tail.

"These creatures attacked the town a few days ago. Their first target was the mansion. They burnt it to the ground. I was sleeping deep below, but I was woken from my slumber by the powerful cry of an unknown source. It was a strange feeling. A small voice. It wanted to help so badly, but it was powerless against these monsters. The plea for help was so strong I felt I had to act. I was too late to do much, but I managed to save a few of the townspeople. After that I sought out these creatures and killed them so they couldn't cause anymore pain. I looked for the source of the voice, but I couldn't find it."

Zack listened to the story. He didn't quite understand the part about sleeping deep under the mansion, but the guy was weird and a bit cold so Zack just paid attention to the details of the attack. It would go into his report later. _But that voice..._

"There was something else that I sensed about the voice. I sensed a great determination. It was stubborn and I felt a strong fire burning deep within the soul that was hotter than the dragon's fire. The spirit was broken, but it was as if the break was making it stronger. However..."

"However?" Zack couldn't help it. The guy could really pull you in.

"I also sensed a lot of pain and sadness. I don't know who it was that reached out to me, but they were afraid."

_**. . .**_

He didn't know where he was going. All Strife knew was that he wasn't going to join SOLDIER. After all, the person he had made the promise to was gone. He had failed her. He failed his mother and everyone else in the town. Not that he cared about them, but they were still people he knew - the only people he knew and now they were gone. Strife didn't know why he had been so mean to Zack. He hadn't intended to, but he just couldn't go back and see his worst fears confirmed. His home gone and nothing left. That fear gripped his heart and chilled him to the core more than any snowstorm ever could.

Strife kept going, not even aware of where he was. He had been so upset and so determined to get away from Zack that he had gotten himself lost. It was hard to get his bearings with everything covered in deep snow.

Without realizing it he stepped onto a frozen stream and slipped. He kept sliding and he ended up falling down a slanted waterfall that had frozen over. Strife tried to stop himself, but got his foot caught in between two rocks and it twisted his ankle until he heard it snap. He began tumbling until the slant became a sheer ten foot drop. He landed hard on the ice below.

His eyes opened slowly and he started shivering. His eyes were dazed and clouded and all he could see were his mother and the girl he had broken the promise to. They were gone and he was alone. He buried his face in his sleeve and cried.

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><p><em>Next Chapter: New friends, new outlooks and an unbreakable friendship is born.<em>


	4. Chapter 3: Destiny in the Works

_I wish I didn't have such a severe case of Writer's block. I have been trying to write updates for at least five other stories, but this is the only one that's been seeing any progress. I've got most of chapter 31 for Saving the Lost finished, but its still not ready. It's the closest to being ready followed by Present from the Past which is over half-way done. I know many are waiting for the next update for Strife: SG-1, and I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a bit longer for that. There's just a lot going on in my personal life and I think it's starting to affect my writing. Holiday stress - it's amazing what it can do to a person. _

_And don't worry Mrs. Strife, your son couldn't be safer now that Zack's taken him under his wing. ;)_

_I hope you all enjoy this latest update. :)_

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><p>He thought he could hear a voice. It sounded familiar, but he didn't dare to hope that anyone was looking for him. Who even knew he was out here anyway? Besides, what they were calling him wasn't his name.<p>

"Kid! Hey, can you hear me?"

Zack was doing his best to follow the snow prints. After leaving Nibelheim behind, Zack mentally made plans to return to Midgar, but not without that kid. The boy's trail had been easy enough to follow until the wind started to kick up. Now the tracks were slowly being covered over and despite his better-than-average tracking skills he was having a hard time finding his way.

"Oh man, why'd I just let him go off on his own? If anything happens to that kid I'll never forgive myself," he said to himself as he cupped his hand to his mouth. "Kid! Are you out there?"

Strife slowly lifted his head as the voice drew nearer.

"Zack?"

Had he really come looking for him? He got his answer when he heard him calling out again. Strife tried to get up, but fell back down with a yelp of pain when he tried putting weight on his injured foot. The impact of his fall caused the ice to crack. He held his breath and kept still, praying that the frozen surface would hold. He let out a small breath of relief when it still held. He then heard Zack calling out again, but it was quieter this time. With a fresh wave of fear Strife realized that he was moving farther away.

"Zack! I'm over here!"

Nothing. Strife tried again and the voice was still growing distant. He tried to raise his voice but the ice began cracking more.

_**. . .**_

Over an hour had passed. Zack called and called until his voice was sore. The wind wasn't helping and it seemed to muffle his efforts. He also feared that he'd pass by the kid. with the wind blowing right at him it made hearing anything really difficult.

"This is the last time I take any snow-themed missions. Next time it'll be a tropical island paradise with hula girls, drinks with little umbrellas and someone in the background playing a ukulele!" He had just passed under a tree where it offered some defense against the wind.

"Spiky! Where are you? I'm sorry about before! Come on kid!"

The snow from a tree branch fell and landed right on top of him, coating his spiky black hair and stinging his eyes. When he opened them he had to rub them to make sure he wasn't seeing things. A wolf was standing a few feet in front of him. It was different from the normal Nibel Wolves and unlike the others it wasn't baring its fangs at him. It was just standing there.

"What? Never seen a guy get pelted with snow before?" asked the SOLDIER.

The wolf walked passed him and headed off in the direction Zack had just come from. Zack turned to watch it and blinked when the wolf stopped and turned its head back to him.

"You want me to follow you?"

The wolf turned then and headed off. Zack shrugged and followed it.

Zack was getting a bit irritated. The wolf had made him retrace his steps pretty far by the time he noticed the creature stop. The wolf was sniffing at a frozen stream. Zack only shook his head.

"Sorry Fido, the water's frozen over. You can't quench your thirst here."

The wolf kept sniffing and headed further downstream. Zack shook his head and followed.

"Look, it doesn't matter how far you go. It's too cold, you'll never find water around he-" Zack stopped when he saw a small branch where a patch of furry material was sticking to it. He took the material from the branch and looked at it more closely. It was just like the coat that the kid had.

"Wait, you've been leading me to Spiky?!"

But as he turned to look around the wolf was no where to be seen. Zack followed the stream that was now going down a slanted path.

"Spiky! Spiky, where are you?"

He had to stop himself when he almost fell from a steep drop. It was then that he looked down and saw him. The kid was lying face down right in the middle of the frozen pond. What scared Zack most was that the kid wasn't moving.

_**. . .**_

"Spiky!"

He opened his eyes slowly. He was so cold and his foot hurt too much to move. But he thought he had heard a voice.

"Spiky, can you hear me?"

The kid looked up then, realizing that he wasn't hearing things. "Zack?"

He looked over the top of the frozen waterfall that he had fallen from and saw him standing there. His spirits soared when he realized that Zack had come back for him.

"Zack!" He shouted as he jolted up, but that's when the ice gave way and he fell into the frigid water.

He tried to fight his way back to the surface, but his thick coat and the rest of his supplies was weighing him down and with his injured foot he couldn't kick his way back up. His strength gave out and as the precious bubbles of air escaped his mouth a strong hand grabbed his arm and started pulling him up. He felt the weight of his supplies vanish and within seconds his head broke the surface and he was choking up water.

Zack shoved him out of the water before hauling himself up. The kid was shaking like a leaf and Zack did the only thing he could. He pulled off the kid's clothes which were soaking wet and doing far more harm than good. Next he ran over towards where he had thrown off his sword in order to dive in. In his haste, the top of his SOLDIER First uniform had gotten caught on the blade's strap and been pulled off with it. Now he was grateful for it as he took the sweater-like vest and wrapped it around the kid.

"Z-z-z-Za-ck?" he asked through chattering teeth.

"I'm here kid. You're gonna be okay."

"I'm s-s-sorry ab-bout bef-f-fore."

"Don't worry about that right now, focus on staying warm." Zack looked around for anything else he could use to warm the kid up. He was freezing as well, but with mako coursing through his system he knew he'd be fine. the kid was a completely different story.

He didn't want to move the kid, but they couldn't stay here. It was hard to tell how much time had passed through the thick clouds, but Zack guessed that it wouldn't be long until sundown. Strapping the sword to his back, Zack then made sure the sweater was wrapped firmly around the kid as he picked him up and carried him in his arms. Zack hated that the kid felt cold as ice and his blonde spikes were starting to freeze.

"Hey, you gotta stay with me kid. Don't you dare go where I can't follow. Screw it, I'd still go and drag you back. It can't be any different than plunging into ice water and freezing my ass off, right?"

The boy fought to keep his eyes open, but he couldn't help but offer a small smile. "I-I'll s-s-stay p-put," he replied quietly.

Hearing this, Zack smiled.

"Good. Now you just stick close to me and I'll have us sitting on a nice beach, drinking tropical punch in no time."

Strife nodded and curled tighter against Zack's chest, trying to keep warm. It wasn't long until he slipped into the quiet darkness of the realm of unconsciousness.

_**. . .**_

When the world came back to him, the first thing Strife noticed was that he was no longer freezing. In fact, he was warm and very comfortable. He pulled the blanket closer to him and breathed into the soft fabric. Slowly he opened his eyes and realized that he was lying in a bed with a cooking fire burning in a stove nearby. The small door had been left open to heat the room. Looking around it looked like he was in a cave, but it felt different from the one he and Zack had taken shelter in,..._ZACK!_

The boy sat up quickly and was about to throw off the blanket when a voice greeted him.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

Strife looked around, seeing no one except for the large creature lying in the corner. It was red with a small fire burning at the tip of its tail. The creature resembled a cross between a wolf and a lion. Strife wasn't sure which he resembled more. The creature sat up then and scratched behind his ear with a hind paw before shaking his head and offered what appeared to be a smile.

"Good morning young one, My grandfather said you would be waking up sometime today."

"Wh-who are you? And where am I?"

A purr rumbled in the creature's chest in what Strife guessed was laughter.

"There's no need to be alarmed. You're quite safe here. This is Cosmo Canyon and I am Nanaki. My grandfather is the headman of the village and is currently showing your friend around."

"My friend? You mean Zack's okay?"

Nanaki nodded, "Overly energetic is the term that would describe him better at the moment," Nanaki replied. "I'd take you to him, but your foot needs to heal more. It's a pretty bad sprain."

Strife looked down at his foot which was now wrapped in bandages. His clothes were on a table next to him, all folded and they looked like they had been recently cleaned.

Nanaki stood up and stretched before heading for the door, "I imagine you'd like some privacy in order to get dressed. I'll inform my grandfather and your friend that you're awake, Spiky."

Strife blinked, "Thanks, but my name isn't Spiky. It's Cl-"

"All this time, I can't believe it! the planet really _is _an amazing place!"

Nanaki opened the door with his muzzle just in time for Zack to come bouncing by. He seemed both excited and angry at the same time which was an odd sight to see. His anger vanished the moment he saw his friend sitting up in bed.

"Spiky! You're awake!"

Strife smiled at him, "Thanks to you, I am."

Zack merely shrugged his heroism off. "Pfft, n'ah it wasn't just me. Furball over there deserves half the credit."

"All I did was keep the boy warm and offer shelter," Nanaki humbly replied.

Strife nodded to the cat as he made his leave, "Thanks Nanaki."

The cat nodded back and headed off to find his grandfather. Zack walked over to a chair and sat down before running his hands through his hair. "Man, I have got a lot of re-thinking to do."

"That could be dangerous," Strife joked.

Zack shot him an amused glare before huffing in mock offense. "So's running off into the mountains on your own."

Strife closed his eyes in defeat, but couldn't mask his smile. "Okay fine. I was stupid and made a mistake, but what do you expect from a country bumpkin?"

Zack snorted before unleashing his laughter. "And you think Gongaga is any better? A bit warmer maybe, but that's it. Trust me Spiky, I've made my fair share of mistakes, but that doesn't make me a country bumpkin, so that excuse won't work on me."

Strife looked down at his hands which were resting on top of the blanket.

"I never did tell you my real name."

"The villagers called you Strife," Zack replied.

The boy looked up at him then, "There were survivors? How many?"

Zack felt his good mood vanish. He didn't want to put the kid in a bad mood, but he wanted to be honest with him. "Nine."

"Just...just nine?"

Zack nodded. "Four men, two kids and three women." His gaze focused on a rock sticking out of the wall. "They weren't very nice people either. I wanted to punch that one guy's light's out. He was so eager to throw the blame at someone else for what happened."

"Sounds like Cassidy. That guy was always looking for a way to point the blame at me for something." Strife replied. "His younger brother was one of the ones that always bullied me a lot. One day I got tired of him and gave him a bloody nose. He went crying to Cassidy and the next day he was telling the mayor and everyone else that I was seen stealing from people's houses."

Zack's jaw dropped open at hearing that. "Well shit! I really should have punched him out then,"

Strife shook his head. "Wouldn't have done any good. He's the type that never learns."

Zack sat back and folded his arms, "Okay, so you don't like me callin' you Spiky and I don't like Strife because it doesn't really suite you, what should I call you?"

The kid smiled at him then,

"Cloud."

"No seriously, what's your name?"

"Cloud."

"I like Spiky better. I mean, what kinda name is Cloud?"

"What kind of name is Zack Fair?"

Zack sighed, "Fair enough."

The two blinked at the hidden joke and erupted into laughter.

Just outside of the door and out of Zack's SOLDIER hearing range Nanaki and his grandfather had been listening in within a secret room.

"Cloud Strife and Zack Fair. The planet has been waiting for these two for quite some time."

Nanaki looked up at the old man, "What does the future hold?"

"Nothing is for certain, Nanaki, but I do know this. Those two will bring about great changes. Both for the planet and each other."

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><p><em>Next Chapter: Home Sweet Home, Stowaway, The General.<em>


	5. Chapter 4: Bonfire Blues

_I probably should have stated this at the beginning, but eh, better late than never, right? I do not, nor will I ever own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. that honor belongs to Square Enix._

_Enjoy!_

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><p>Cloud and Zack spent the next week in Cosmo Canyon while waiting for the kid's foot to heal. Cloud felt bad that Zack had to carry him around, but the SOLDIER always brushed it off and said it didn't bother him. They learned a lot about the planet and how it's fragile balance was important to protect. They listened to the stories, told by both Nanaki and his grandfather and Zack was really impressed by the old man's machine. Cloud was impressed too and wondered how it was able to project the space surrounding their planet and even showed them what the lifestream looked like. Cloud secretly wondered if his mother was resting peacefuly within the ribbon-like current. Zack had seen his friend's expression and went into action to lift his mood.<p>

"Look Spiky, I'm gonna eat the moon!"

He took a few steps towards the hologram of the moon and opened his mouth wide enough before taking a step and chomping down.

"Mmmm, hey, it really _does_ taste like cheese!"

From that moment on, whenever Zack saw Cloud with a sad face he did something completely random and the result was always the same. The SOLDIER was always rewarded with a laugh or a smile. The two had become good friends with Nanaki as well. They spent their last night in Cosmo Canyon sitting around the large bonfire that was burning in the center of the village. Zack was roasting marshmallows while Cloud was listening to one of Nanaki's stories.

"And that was how the three friends became enemies and in the end lost everything they once held dear," the cat finished.

"What a tragic story, and you said this story replays itself with every generation?" asked Cloud.

Nanaki nodded his head, "Sadly, yes. I've seen and heard of many friends who have become enemies."

Cloud blinked a few times before glancing over at Zack. The SOLDIER in turn caught on to what his little pal was thinking.

"Oh please, don't believe everything you hear, Spiky. Not all friends become enemies and besides, _LOVELESS _is nothing but a play. Genesis keeps a copy on him at all times and quotes it often. It's like that one story, Romeo and Juliet. In the end both lovers died and it was only then that their families realized their mistakes and made up."

Nanaki smirked, "I didn't take you for a fan of literature, Zack."

"I'm not, but Angeal pretty much beat those stories into me when I was a Third and it's forever burned into my memory."

Cloud sighed and held a faraway look into the flames, "Still, the fact that they were once so close and it didn't take much to turn them against each other. I've never really had a friend until now but I hope nothing like that happens."

Zack clapped a hand on Cloud's shoulder which startled him. "It won't. I swear on my honor as a SOLDIER. Now, have a marshmallow."

He pulled off the gooey snack and tossed it to his friend who was forced to juggle it before it hit the ground.

Nanaki wrapped his tail around his paws as he sat up, "I wish you didn't have to go tomorrow. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like."

Zack nodded, "Thanks, but I really need to head back to Midgar. I wouldn't be surprised if Angeal has every SOLDIER and Turk out looking for me by now."

"Turk?...what's that?" asked Cloud.

Zack cast his friend a side-ways glance, "You've heard of secret agents, right?...Spy stuff?"

Cloud nodded.

Zack leaned back with his hands, bracing the ground behind him, "That's the Turks."

Nanaki rested his gaze on Cloud, "So I take it you'll be leaving with your friend?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because your foot hasn't quite healed well enough yet."

Zack nodded, "He's right, maybe you should stay here Spike."

Cloud's head snapped in the direction of his friend. "What?!"

The SOLDIER snickered, "I'm only teasing. Of course you're coming with me. I can't let you go wandering off again. Who else will save you from freezing water and your own stubbornness?"

"Very funny," Cloud pouted before folding his arms and turning away. "You big jerk."

Zack tilted his head, "Ohh~, is that how it's gonna be?"

He got up slowly before pouncing on the young kid. Nanaki just watched as the two wrestled and rough-housed. Zack had an unfair advantage with his strength; an advantage he was making full use of, much to the young blonde's protests.

"Agh, no fair using SOLDIER strength!"

"What can I say? I don't know my own strength!"

"This is child abuse!"

"Are you kidding? This is how brothers bond!"

"I don't have any brothers!"

"Well, you do now, so quit whining and fight back! OW! No biting!...Gotcha!"

Zack had managed to lock Cloud in a bear hug. The boy's arms were pinned in front of him, against Zack's chest and the SOLDIER was holding the kid off the ground with a grin.

"I win," he replied smugly.

"Nanaki, a little help here?" asked Cloud.

The cat was simply watching the whole event with amusement clear on his features. "If you can't over-power your opponent, try lowering his guard. If that doesn't work then Imobalize him."

Zack chuckled, "And how's he gonna do that? I've got him pinned!"

That's when Cloud got an idea.

Suddenly Zack was laughing and started to loose his grip. "Hahaha! Hey, no fair tickling!"

It was the only thing the blonde could do and in less than a minute he was able to break away from the SOLDIER - able to, but instead he chose to keep at it and soon Zack was lying on his back. He tried to roll away, but the kid's assault was relentless.

"Say uncle!" Cloud challenged.

"No way!" Zack replied through his laughter.

"Say it!"

"I believe the boy's got you beat. You can't reclaim the upper hand without any strength. A very effective tactic I must admit," added Nanaki who was enjoying this immensely.

The attack went on for about two more minutes before Zack's stubbornness finally gave in and he threw in the towel, "Okay, okay! Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!"

Cloud stopped and the SOLDIER was left to catch his breath. He then laid down next to his friend, also a bit out of breath.

Zack smiled as he gave one last chuckle, "You're a tough little squirt."

Cloud snubbed his nose as he replied, "Of course I'm tough. I'm from Nibelh-..."

Zack slowly sat up and looked down at the kid. Ever since he had first woken up at Cosmo Canyon he had been having nightmares about what had happened. It was hard to see the kid so depressed. Cloud no longer had a home and his only family was gone.

"Hey, you know what you're right. You gotta be tough to live in a town like Nibelhiem. Maybe that's why you beat me. Gongaga is a great place to live, but with the warm climate and the easy-going aura surrounding the place you tend to get soft in the easy-going life style if you're not careful. I must be outta practice."

Cloud nodded, his previous good humor gone.

"Yeah."

Zack didn't like that tone one bit. He directed his gaze at the bonfire and sighed. "You know, Midgar isn't anything like what you're used to. It's big, really big. It's so big that they divided it up into different sectors and each sector is like its own little city. It's also split into two levels. The upper plate, where Shinra HQ and most of the shops and theaters and hotels are and then there's the slums. It's pretty dirty down there and full of junk and monsters. People live there too, but their not as nice, at least none that I've met."

"What's your point?" asked Cloud.

"My point is that if you really wanted to stay here you could. Nanaki seems to like you. I just don't want to put you in a situation where you'd be uncomfortable."

Cloud gave him a look. The same look that he had given him when Zack asked which direction Nibelhiem was in. Zack saw it as a look of betrayal or abandonment...maybe both.

"But, I'd be with you." Something sparked in the kid's eyes as if he had realized something and he rose to his feet, putting his full weight on his injured foot and walked over to stand between Zack and the fire. "And besides, you promised you'd never leave me behind again. Remember? I'm going with you and that's that. Even if you leave me behind I'll still follow you. you can't get rid of me that easily, SOLDIER."

Zack blinked at the kid. The fire burning behind the boy made him seem like a completely different person. It was probably his eyes playing tricks on him, but what he saw could have well been a vision of the future. the flames made Cloud appear older, more like his age. Instead of a black T-shirt and baggy dark pants he saw what looked like a SOLDIER uniform, complete with shoulder guards, a dark sleeve covering one of his arms and what looked like a strap for a sword to cling to his back much like Zack's own weapon. What amazed him most was the light glow in Cloud's eyes. If Zack didn't know better he would swear he was looking at another SOLDIER.

"Zack?" asked Cloud, noticing the odd look he was giving him.

Zack shook his head to clear it and when he looked back at his friend he saw the kid normally again. "That...was weird."

"What was?"

Zack brought a hand up to his forehead as if he was suffering from a headache. "I'm not sure."

"It seems the planet is sending you a message."

The three looked up to see Bugenhagen approaching.

"What kind of message? did you see it too?" asked Zack.

The old man shook his head. "No, but I can tell the signs clear enough. I wager whatever it is you saw has to deal with your current dilema."

"You mean Cloud?"

"Is that what you saw? Think carefully now."

Zack blinked and looked down at the sand in front of him. Cloud had appeared older and looked stronger, but the giveaway were the eyes. They had the trademark mako glow of a SOLDEIR. There was no mistaking that. He looked over at Cloud then who didn't really have an idea what was going in, but he seemed a bit nervous. It was then that Zack knew what he had to do.

"Alright Spike, you win."

_**. . .**_

It had been over a week since Zack had left and what should have been a two-day mission had obviously gone horribly wrong. Why hadn't he tried to report in? what could have happened? These were questions that Angeal Hewely was forced to deal with. He sat at his desk, trying his best to do his paperwork, but it was useless. As much as the puppy could be a hassle he'd give almost anything to have Zack come bursting into his office with some small random bit of information that was utterly useless. Most of the time it was funny stories from the Midgar Tribune, or good deals at some of his favorite stores. Sometimes Angeal felt more like the teen's father than his mentor. This was one of those times.

The door opened up and Angeal could tell who it was by the sounds of the footsteps. It seemed everyone on the upper floors had their own specific strut. Sephiroth was no exception.

"Any word Sephiroth?"

The general stopped and blinked at the man sitting at his desk. It impressed him that one of his second in commands was so well aware of his surroundings while multitasking several other things. "Not good news." He replied as he tossed a manila file onto the desk.

Angeal took it and looked through the file. He then laid it down and rubbed his temples. "How many were recovered?"

"By the time the team arrived the bodies had already joined the lifestream. There may well have been so survivors."

"And the mission? Was the second team able to complete it?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "They were too late. According to one of the survivors even the first team wouldn't have made it in time."

Angeal shook his head. This day was just getting worse and worse.

"There is a bit of good news."

Angeal looked up at the general. "Go on."

"It seems that Zack found his way to the town and then wandered back into the mountains. The villagers haven't seen him since."

Angeal sighed with relief. Zack was alive. "How long ago was he there?"

"Three or four days according to witnesses."

That long? It never usualy took Zack four days to return. He had been stranded before and managed to at least call. Suddenly he felt his worry for his pupil growing again. Zack was from a small town in the south. If not for the mako there'd be no way he could survive in those sub-zero temperatures.

"Thank you, Sephiroth," Angeal said as the general turned to leave.

He stopped at the door, but didn't turn back around. "The puppy may be the class clown of Shinra, but he can be surprisingly resourceful when he has to be. Try not to be too hard on him when he returns."

With that he headed out of the office and down the hall towards the elevator.

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><p><em>Next Chapter: The return journey begins, explanations, meeting a monster.<em>


	6. Chapter 5: Motion Sickness

_Hello again. I'm glad everyone enjoying this so far. Especially considering it didn't have a decent plot at first. Which has changed I'm happy to say. Still having trouble finishing up some other updates and I'm really really sorry about that. Especially since you guys have been so patient and awesome about it. I did want to clear one thing up that I was unsure if I had written out well enough in the last chapter. _

_When Zack saw Cloud in the firelight with a mako glow in his eyes, that was just an illusion created by the fire, yet it was also a vision that the planet was showing Zack. Cloud doesn't have mako yet. ;)_

_Hope everyone enjoys this update and don't worry, if you like seeing the rest of the FF7 crew making their own intros you'll love how the others make their intros into the story. ^_^_

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><p>The elevator was half-way down when the doors opened up and and a red-head entered. Sephiroth stepped to the side to allow the man room to reach over and press the floor of his destination. He arched an eye brow when the man reached for the laboratory floor. Normally this man was seen in the snack lounge or on the Turk floor. The General let the thought fade. It was none of his concern.<p>

Reno had been dead on his feet for the past few hours and his forth cup of coffee was proving to have no effect on him. Then again he had been up for almost forty-eight hours straight and caffeine could only do so much. Because of this it took him a minute to register that he not only didn't have the elevator to himself, but he was sharing it with the General.

"Yo," he said while trying to fight back a yawn.

If he was trying to conceal his exhaustion he was doing a poor job of it. Sephiroth could clearly see the bags under his eyes.

"Reno," he greeted. "It's unusual for you to be working this late."

Reno smirked at this, even if the General didn't know you on a personal level he sure as heck could tell when something about you seemed off.

"You heard about what happened in Nibelheim, right?"

Sephiroth nodded in response, "One of our own is missing in the location."

"Yeah," the turk nodded. "I heard about Zack. I guess there was more in that small town than we first thought. That mansion was one of Hojo's little retreats."

At this Sephiroth cast a sideways glance at the turk. A small gesture, but to the turk it showed that he had captured the General's interest.

"Another secret lab?"

Reno nodded, "I'm on my way to give him the good news now."

"What news is that?"

Reno let his shoulders sag slightly. "That the mansion was a total loss. Rude was at the sight and reported nothing was salvageable."

A small smirk appeared on the General's features. "Perhaps I should accompany you, no doubt you'll need some protection from the Professor's wrath."

Reno cocked his head to the side as if weighing his options. "I think I'll accept your offer. I don't think I have enough stamina to deal with a raving Hojo on my own. Tsung's been workin' me pretty hard lately."

"Slacking off again, were you?"

Reno blinked a bit as he looked at the General. Since when was Sephiroth this chatty? With a shrug he merely suppressed another yawn. "Not really, just the normal routine."

"I see."

The bell dinged and the doors slid opened as the two made their way out. Sephiroth wrinkled his nose slightly in disgust at the smell that greeted him. the scent of Mako hung thick in the air. He was well used to it by now, but it was that first whiff that always got him. It was gone as quick as it came, but it never failed to put a damper on his mood and remind him of the person he was about to see. Sephiroth led the way as the two headed down the hall and towards Hojo's office which is where he could usually be found unless he was working on one of his experiments.

Hojo was writing notes and reading over several files when the two entered. He didn't even look up to acknowledge them as he continued scribbling down cryptic equations and side notes. Reno cleared his throat, but it seemed to have no effect.

"Professor Hojo," Reno tried again.

"If you lack the ability to be patient then you have no business requesting an audience with me. Wait like an adult or throw a tantrum and leave like a child."

Sephiroth could easily sense Reno bristling next to him, but the Turk kept quiet. Very few people could tolerate Hojo and his 'I am smarter and far more superior than anyone' attitude. Sephiroth could only stand him for long, but he had a higher tolerance than most, though, not by choice.

Finally after what seemed like twenty minutes (and probably was) the professor set his pen down and looked up at his guests.

"Ah, Sephiroth. The only person in this infernal company worth conversing with, what brings you here?"

Sephiroth glanced to his side as Reno took a step forward and placed a file on Hojo's desk. The scientist just looked up at Reno as if he were a child who just handed him his report card.

"You should probably have a look at that," Reno told him.

Hojo glared at him as if he were an annoying fly buzzing around his office before picking up the file and scanning over it. The two watched as his bored expression began transforming into one of surprise, and then anger. Finally he threw the file down as he shot up from his chair.

"I want to know who is responsible for this so I can personally hold them accountable!"

Sephiroth shook his head, "No one. It was an outbreak of monsters that had overtaken the area. The town was destroyed."

"I don't care about the town! Do they know how much this loss costs me?! Decades worth of research and experiments gone up in flames?!" He turned to Sephiroth then, "What about the reactor?"

"As far as I am aware there is no damage reported there."

Hojo stopped his ranting and appeared to calm down. Only his hands were still shaking with anger. "I want extra security placed there at all times."

Sephiroth nodded and Hojo turned his back on them. "Leave me, I need time to think."

"I'm not finished," Reno started.

"I said get out!" Hojo snapped and Sephiroth gave the turk a look that told him not to argue. As the two stepped back into the elevator Reno went into full rant about what a jerk Hojo was, but Sephiroth ignored it for the most part. He was more concerned with Hojo's behavior. Just what was in that mansion and more importantly, what was in the reactor that would make Hojo want to increase security? Hearing that it been safe seemed to reassure him which considering he had just lost so much meant that whatever was in the reactor was more important than Hojo was letting on.

_**. . .**_

The sound of a ferry whistle rang clear in the air as the charter skimmed over the waves of the ocean. Sea birds called as they glided on the warm ocean breeze overhead. Zack smiled up at the clear blue sky as he took a bite from his plate. It felt so good to be somewhere far away from those mountains. Not a single snow flake in sight. Even though he was heading back to Midgar, this felt more like a vacation than anything. At least now that his life wasn't in any danger. His good mood faltered a bit when he looked over at his friend.

Cloud had found out not long after the ferry had set out that he was prone to sea sickness. The waves were calm enough, but the constant rocking back and forth even slightly was enough to do him in and he was currently leaning over the rail, trying to keep his breakfast down.

"Poor Kid," Zack mumbled to himself as he took a sip of his iced tea. He would have to remember to make sure he carried motion sickness medicine whenever they traveled from now on.

After another fifteen minutes Cloud moved away from the rail and took a seat at the table.

"Feel better?" asked Zack.

"Once we get off this boat I will."

"Ferry."

"Whatever."

Cloud folded his arms on the table and buried his head. The darkness was a welcome relief from the bright sunshine and the view of the summer salad that Zack was enjoying.

"Is this your first time on a boat?" asked Zack.

"Yes," came the muffled reply.

"Well, the nausea shouldn't last forever. Normally it goes away after a day or two. Why don't you try drinking some water?"

The blonde didn't need any second bidding. He took the glass that was next to his hand and gulped it down before Zack got his attention.

"Don't chug it down, you'll only make your self sick again. Small Sips, that's the key," he added with a wink.

Cloud slowed down and followed his friend's advice. It did help, but he suddenly felt a different kind of sickness. One he was sort of surprised to be suffering. "Do you think Nibelheim can get back on its feet?"

Zack leaned back in his chair, "Don't know."

He saw the depressed expression the boy had and smirked. "But, if the survivors are half as stubborn as you are they'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Especially with that guy hanging around. I don't think they'll have any monsters to worry about for a while."

"What guy?" asked Cloud.

"He must've been a hunter or some kind of skilled fighter," Zack replied. "He had a pretty cool lookin' triple barrel gun, a golden claw on his left hand that would put a dragon's claw to shame and he had this really spooky red cloak. It's like it had a life of its own. He'd look like a total badass if not for those funny boots. They were pointed, like really pointed, kinda like something a clown would wear."

"Sounds like the Red Ghost of the Mansion."

"Huh, odd. That's where that guy said he came from."

Cloud shook his head. "It's been abandoned as far back as anyone could remember. Sometimes you'd hear the monsters that dwell within which was more than enough to keep people away."

"So, you're saying that guy was the ghost?" Zack blinked in surprise.

Cloud only shook his head. "Ghosts don't exist, he was probably pulling your leg. Most likely he was just some bounty hunter looking to hunt a bunch of monsters for the gil."

The next two days went by quickly. Cloud was so happy when they finally got back on dry land. He was currently waiting with their stuff while Zack was making a few phone calls. When Zack did return he looked delfated.

"What's wrong?" asked Cloud.

"Huh?" Zack looked up and shook his head. "Nothin' for you to worry about. Angeal just chewed me up and spit me out for making him worry like I did. I also found a way to cut our travel time in half."

"What do you mean?"

"I hired a guy to fly us most of the way home."

Cloud wasn't sure that was such a good idea, but he didn't look forward to traveling a long distance either, so he decided to keep his thoughts to himself as he followed Zack away from the port and towards the airfield and it was when they were almost at the front gate that he wondered why he was still lugging the heavy bag around. His foot was still healing and this heavy suit case wasn't helping.

"Why'd you get that thing anyway?" he asked as they sat in the waiting room. The pilot that would be taking them hadn't arrived yet.

"Well, it's big enough to carry all of our stuff for one," he replied.

"I'll say. It's so big I could fit inside," Cloud replied.

At this Zack chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"You'll see," was all he said.

Their pilot arrived about thirty minutes later and apologized for the hold up, though it was hard to translate it through his fowl mouth that was loaded with every swear word in the dictionary. Out of all the gibberish Zack was able to deduce that the man's name was Cid Highwind and that he was the best pilot from here to Wutai. How that true that was still to be seen, considering his plane was a small aircraft and the name 'Little Bronco' was painted on the side of the red plane.

When they got ready to leave Zack put the suitcase in the compartment with a few sacks of what looked like bird feed.

"Hey Pops, what with all the bird food?"

"That's my other delivery and where you boys get off. I'm headin' for the Chocobo ranch that's to the South East of Kalm. It's a little farther than Midgar, but it'll save you a lot more time trekkin' from there than here."

"True enough," Zack replied as he closed the hatch.

Cloud peered into the one of the seats. "Um, there isn't enough to fit all three of us, is there?"

Cid bit onto his cigarette as he smirked at the kid. "What, yer small enough to share with yer pal ain't'cha?"

"I'm not small," Cloud retorted with a slight pout.

Seeing the kid's reaction Cid's smirk only grew, "A'corse we could always pack ya with the bird feed, but bein' the little chocobo that you are, ya might eat it all, haha!"

Cloud's pout only grew and before Zack could step in the kid kicked the pilot in the shin. Cid doubled over and held his leg while hissing a boat-load of curses under his breath.

"_Spiky~_,"

"He had it coming," the blonde replied.

Once everyone had calmed down and settled Cid made sure the other two were buckled up before taking off. Much to Cloud's protests he was small enough to sit comfortably in the same seat with Zack who didn't seem to mind. That is until they were in the air and he realized he forgot to buy motion sickness medicine for Cloud who had grown pale and his face had taken on a slight green tint.

* * *

><p><em>Next Time: Chocobo lessons, Saving a Thief, and Cloud's first encounter with a Zolom!<em>


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